x

Society

Excavator Seen Digging in Backyard of Man Charged in Gilgo Beach Killings

MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Investigators have been digging in the yard at the Long Island home of Rex Heuermann, who was charged earlier this month with killing at least three women and burying their remains on a remote stretch of beach highway.

On Sunday, a yellow excavator was seen scooping dirt in the alleged killer’s backyard, according to aerial footage shared by News 12. Investigators could be seen scraping through the freshly upturned earth with shovels. The digging equipment was still on the scene Monday morning.

A neighbor told the Associated Press said he witnessed men who appeared to be police lifting the front porch of the house on Sunday afternoon.

“They yelled ‘lift’ and brought it up in one big piece, as if it was a cover,” Barry Auslander said.

The porch has been replaced by a white tent, with a state medical examiner’s truck parked nearby.

Investigators are trying to determine whether any of the killings happened inside the Massapequa Park home that Heuermann shared with his wife and two children.

Authorites have pulled more than 100 firearms from the house, along with a large doll encased in glass and a portrait of a woman with a bruise on her face. Police also got a warrant to conduct searches of Heuermann’s property in South Carolina.

The July 14th arrest of Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect, marked a stunning breakthrough in the long-stalled cold case that first drew headlines in 2010, when police began searching for a missing woman, Shannon Gilbert, near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach.

Instead, they discovered 10 sets of human remains scattered along a long barrier island. The dead included eight women, one man and a young child.

Heuermann, who has pleaded not guilty, was charged with killing three of the women – Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, and Megan Waterman. He is the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

The bodies of the four women were found along the same quarter-mile (0.4-kilometer) stretch of Ocean Parkway. Heuermann has not been accused in connection to the other remains, and police have suggested the deaths may be the work of multiple killers.

In South Carolina, where Heuermann’s brother lives, police are seeking video recordings and writings related to the killings, burlap, duct tape, guns and ammunition, cutting tools, and a specific type of paper towel from the Bounty Modern Print Collection.

Authorities also seized a Chevrolet Avalanche, which Heuermann had transferred to his brother in 2012, from the property. The vehicle was spotted by a roommate of one of the victims shortly before her disappearance, a tip that ultimately proved crucial in helping police make an arrest.

RELATED

NEW YORK (AP) — A former New York City official was charged Tuesday with witness tampering and destroying evidence in connection with a federal investigation that led to Mayor Eric Adams’ bribery indictment.

herald

Top Stories

Columnists

A pregnant woman was driving in the HOV lane near Dallas.

General News

NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.

Video

Albania’s Opposition Protests and Demands a Caretaker Cabinet

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Opposition supporters in Albania protested again Monday, demanding that the government be replaced by a technocratic caretaker Cabinet before next year’s parliamentary election.

NEW YORK (AP) — A former New York City official was charged Tuesday with witness tampering and destroying evidence in connection with a federal investigation that led to Mayor Eric Adams’ bribery indictment.

Does fall make you feel a strong desire to go apple picking at a local orchard? If so, look for one with cider-making capabilities - especially hard cider, the latest and hottest craft brew in America.

NEW YORK – Greek-American-invented chicken tenders were featured in the New York Times in an article titled “How Chicken Tenders Conquered America” which noted that “50 years ago, the breaded, fried chicken tender as we know it was invented in Manchester, NH.

BALTIMORE – On October 4, at the age of 100, Bess Arbes Stamas, devoted wife of the late Paul G.

espa

Enter your email address to subscribe

Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g. [email protected]

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter.